Mockingbird

Content Warning: The Chapter 11 Summary contains references to a school shooting and gunshot wounds.

The next day in school, Mrs. Brook tells Caitlin she is changing Caitlin’s schedule so that Caitlin will take recess with the younger kids. Caitlin is nervous and sucks the sleeve of her sweater, a sign of her agitation. As she and Mrs. Brook head to the playground, Mrs. Brook stresses to Caitlin that to make friends she needs to make eye contact: “We really need to work hard on making friends” (53).

Caitlin prepares for her first 20-minute recess with the younger kids. She sees a kid in a red hat who she remembers attended Devon’s memorial service. He is sitting alone on a bench, hunched over; Caitlin thinks he looks lonely, his eyes as sad as Bambi’s. She goes over and offers him a gummy worm by way of introduction. The boy asks whether Caitlin misses her brother. Caitlin likes that the boy minds his manners: He is polite and keeps out of her personal space. At the end of recess, they exchange names. He is Michael. “I wonder,” Caitlin asks, “if this means I have a friend” (61).